This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: [PRIMROSES] Gunnera + Hi + msc. was: Companion plants

Thanks to you, Diana and to Robyn for the good information!  It does sound
like I can chance this beast.  I'm particularly glad to hear it does well
in shade.  If it will take total shade for you, Diana, it should take shade
for me as I know our weather gets hotter than yours in the PNW.

The hay sounds a good idea as well as the pot over the crown.  I've seen
those crowns and the are otherworldly!

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
http://www.suite101.com/frontpage/frontpage.cfm?topicID=222
Gardening Topic Index for Suite101:
http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/gardening.html

----------
> From: Diana L. Politika <diana@OLYMPUS.NET>
> To: PRIMROSES@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
> Subject: Re: [PRIMROSES] Gunnera + Hi + msc. was: Companion plants
> Date: Sunday, December 28, 1997 9:32 PM
>
> Marge Talt wrote:
>
> > To the point:
> >
> > Diana, I have long been lusting for Gunnera manicata, but have put off
> > getting it because I was worried about its  being hardy in my cool part
of
> > USDA z 7 *and* I have no really nice pondside conditions for it.  So I
> > reading that you consider it hardy to z.7 has me all excited.  I
understand
> > from my reading it wants its crowns on dry land and roots where they
can
> > get lots of water.  Is this correct?  Will they grow in average moist
clay
> > based garden borders with supplemental watering???
> Yes, it is correct.  It does very well in a container sitting in
> approximatley 2-4" of water.  I have taken divisions, and have potted
> them up and left them outside.  They are rooting in gradually, and if I
> suspect a frost is coming I place a 2 gallon nursery container over the
> crown.  I'm not at all concerned about them.  I've kept one display
> plant that will go into a 5 gallon container next spring.
> The one in my yard is on a berm piled over the footing of a retaining
> wall.  It is in full shade and is not regularly watered, tho that corner
> stays soggy wet throughout the early summer.  The moisture, I am sure,
> simply wicks up into the primrose bed.  The soil is sand and peat, into
> which I dig my lawn clippings as the lawn gets mowed.  Clay soil would
> need humus added into it.  Gunnera simply LUV humus. The watering is not
> really an issue if it is joined by other moisture requiring shade
> plants.  If you can grow hosta and dicentra, you can grow a gunnera.
> > I gather you're growing yours in containers for sale.  Do you also grow
it
> > in the ground?  If so, do you have it in waterside conditions?  Plus,
what
> > do you use to cover the crowns for winter?  I have read in Beth
Chatto's
> > books that she folds the spent leaves over them, but, knowing her
gardens
> > are in a warmer climate than mine, I have wondered if this is enough.
Any
> > words of wisdom?  I also wonder whether, in my climate -- which turns
into
> > a damp, sticky furnace in summer-- they would do well in medium shade?
> > Most of what I've read has them in sun and the only places I've
actually
> > seen them were at Kew and Beth Chatto's garden and in both they were in
sun
> > at the edge of a pond.  Also, do you know if they are on bambi's
preferred
> > munch list?
> I don't mulch mine in my yard, but it is against a north facing
> retaining wall.  It gets marginal protection there.  No waterside yet,
> tho when I build a house at the nursery, there will certainly be a water
> garden.
> I think they would do splendidly in a warm region as they are native to
> Maylaysia, Tasmania, NZ, and some of the tropical areas of Mexico and S.
> Africa.
> I don't think deer would be a problem, as I recently had the little
> critters in for dinner, and they devoured the oenothera 'Siskyou Pink',
> but didn't touch the tender, new growth of the gunneras, which were
> within 10 feet.
> They can take sun to semi-shade, tho mine is in total, dense shade and
> does well.
> For your zone 7, to be safe, I would mulch with crown with straw, plant
> an evergreen fern next to the gunnera to mask it during the winter, and
> place an inverted clay pot over the crown to hold the straw in place.
> The roots stay damp and the crown stays toasty.  The crowns, by the way,
> look like something alien.  Large, fuzzy appearance, pink edged.  Like
> an egg from a science fiction movie.
> Keep in mind that you can plant some medium height perennials very near
> the base, as it gets so tall.  You may have to clip off an imposing
> leaf, but the effect could be impressive.
>
> The Greenhouse
> 81 S. Bagley Creek Road & Hwy 101
> Port Angeles, WA  98362
> > Does anyone on the list grow this plant in z. 7?
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index